The Peru Update

Thursday, 15 April 2010 00:00

When Wendy and I traveled through Peru, we were so busy being tourists that we didn’t have time to write about our visit. I’ve had 4 days of free time on the Navimag ferry from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt , so here it is...the Peru update.

A border crossing day – Wendy’s first border – means an early start from Cuenca to ensure we will cross the border with enough time to find lodging after putting in a little distance from the border town. We headed toward Machala, Ecuador’s “banana capital” where we saw organic farming, the bananas were protected by plastic bags on the branches in the trees.

We used our last Ecuadorian money to gas up the bike as we approached the Tumbes-Machala border. Currency for Peru is sols. Welcome to Peru!

Lots of traffic here.

The first group of potential “helpers” in South America surrounded us with friendly chat. One young man admired our moto, brought over his smaller bike and proceeded to help us through the process of getting an exit stamp for people and bike, then checking in bike and people on the Peru side.

One of us always stays with the bike and gear while the other tries to make sense of the maze of lines and officials with stamps. The bike tires were sprayed to “sanitize” them for Peru! The full process took 1 ½ hours – not bad, but it was very hot.

We drove on, through a military town, on dry, dusty roads, and finally reached Mancora, a surfer town on the coast. Lodging in a lovely beach-front place with a pool and a couple of laborador retrievers. We enjoyed several days with the sound of the waves, fresh ceviche, and beautiful sunsets.

Not real sure how these guys were fishing, but they would drag a raft out into the ocean and then the guy on the raft would float there all day. I think they were using a net, but I never saw it.

When I was in Colombia, local riders told me that when I reached the Peruvian boarder, I would enter a desert stretching along the coast to Santiago, Chile. They also told me to watch for police near towns as they give "tickets" which are negotiable when it comes to cost. How do you tell you are nearing a town I asked? "Oh, you will see trash starting to build up along the road. Just slow down until you don’t see any more trash, then you won’t have any problems with the police." I didn’t really understand what they meant by “trash buildup” until I was in Peru. You ride in a deserted desert, nothing for miles. Then, you start to see trash dumps out in the desert. They become more frequent and larger until you enter a town. On the way out, they diminish until again until you are riding alone in the desert; strange. I did slow down at the first signs of trash and picked up my speed when I was out of the town. We were never stopped by a policeman the whole time we were in Peru!

Our next tourist destination was Nazca, 1000 miles away if you stay on the Pan-American. We wanted to see the Cordilleras Blanca area which would add another 200 miles to the route and take us out of the desert and into the Northern Peruvian Andes. We left the seaside resort and rode into the desolate desert.

This truck had a flat which created a traffic jam in each direction in the middle of nowhere

Later, an accident involving a bus and a pickup slowed traffic again

The poverty and harsh conditions in this area are astonishing. Four sticks and four tatami mats can make a home.

There are huge, fenced areas that look like government sponsored settlement land. No electricity or plumbing, no covering on windows or doors. Just a shelter from the wind and sand.

Some houses are brick, and as we travel, we note that the bricks match the soil. We have seen brown, gray, and red variations depending on the local earth.

The weather turned to rain and we were soggy as we pulled into the first hotel we found in Clayo, the Grand Hotel. Grand it was: air conditioning to help dry out our clothes, a Pisco (local white grape brandy) Sour welcome drink, and a hair dryer for Wendy! As we parked the bike (secure parking is a lodging necessity - followed by warm water, wifi, and breakfast) we noticed four other adventure bikes and later met Helge Pederson of Globe Riders and a small group on a 2 ½ month scouting trip from L.A. to Tierra del Fuago. The South American adventure will be offered in the future. We enjoyed visiting with them, but they had an early start in the morning, so they were off to bed.

Then next morning we were off to Chimbote.

When we arrived at Trujillo, we learned that ancient Chimu adobe city of Chan Chan was closed due to heavy rains. Luckily, the Huaca de la Luna temple was still open, so we stopped in for a look.

Huaca del Sol is Peru’s largest pre-Colombian structure. 140 million adobe bricks were used in its construction. It hasn’t been cleared or cleaned up, so it looks like a large pile of sand. But, after visiting the smaller Huaca de la Luna, we could only imagine that it must have been spectacular in its day.

There arre something like five or six layers at Huaca de la Luna, each being a temple at one time. The Moche would build new temples over the old, so archeologists are still digging this one out.

Here are just the two top layers

and at the grand wall you can see 6 layers

This was the Emperor's throne when he would stand to address his people (the left side would have been open but was blocked off for protection by the Archeologists)

Arriving at the Chile’s largest fishing port, Chimbote (yes, you can smell it before you see it), we stayed in another (unrelated) Grand Hotel on the port and town square. The bike had off street parking, and we went to the market for food and a picnic in our room overlooking the waterfront.

We learned while in Ecuador that Peru was suffering from large amounts of rain, 12 inches in only a few hour. Cusco had washed out roads and hundreds of tourists were stranded in Machu Picchu. We were starting to see the effects of the weather now as towns in the north were flooded, rivers swollen, and tourist sites closed.

It was also apparent that the northern roads into Cordilleras Blanca were impassable (later confirmed by the Globe Riders group) so our escape from the desert bit the dust, or mud in this case.

Continuing through the desert, we were off to Lima, 270 miles away.

More ruins

Advertising (how many people see this sign?)

plus sand and wind

Based on the amount of sand we saw on the road, these workers have a secure job.

We made it to Lima and pulled the bike into the courtyard of an old colonial style building, converted into a hostel. No extra charge for the parrot and turtles entertainment at breakfast on the rooftop café.

or the courtyard parking

We strolled the plazas

viewed the different government buildings and guards

and had our first Argentinean beef dinner.

The next day, after cleaning the Beast, we were off to Nazca.

Nazca
We found lodging at the lovely Hotel Nazca Lines, built around a courtyard and pool, an “oasis” in the desert land.

We saw the Maria Reche Planetarium presentation in preparation for our flight over the lines the next morning. Our pilot banked the Cesna 172 for optimal viewing of the various 500-600’, single continuous-line drawings of animals and geometric shapes.






That afternoon, we road to the Cemetery of Chauchilla to view the mummies and tombs. The early Spanish conquistadors dug up many of these tombs in search of gold and jewels. Now, the site is being renovated and the current tombs, mummies, bones, and pottery have been arranged for viewing.





And the current cemetery



We have heard of terrible flooding from rains in the Cusco area and are afraid we will not make it into Machu Picchu which is currently inaccessible. Slowed considerably by road construction, we head toward Cusco.
Moto-Treks at work
We leave the desert and head into the Andes.






Stopping for lunch in a hut at a 14,000’ pass, we have trout and Coco tea for the altitude.


Along the way, we see mountain side stone corrals for sheep


As well as wildlife

We stop for the night in Abancay, since sunset makes continuing on to Cusco impossible. Continuing on the next morning, we witness firsthand the destruction the rains have brought as we drive a mangled road through villages literally shoveling out their homes.



But we still find places that allow a little moto fun

As well as locals friendly locals and markets



Cusco

The Cusco hostel is only a few blocks from the main square. We enjoy a burger and beer at Norton’s Rat Pub

strolled the squares and Cathedrals,







Wendy, seeing so many advertisements for Inca Cola tries one.

She says she will stay will beer and wine. The next day, its off to Sacsayhuaman ruins on the hill above town. In 1536, there was a large bloody battle here between the Inca and Spanish conquistadors. The Spaniards won and the event was memorialized by including 8 condors in the Cuzco coat of arms, representing the large number of Andean condors that could feed on the dead.


The stones are laid in different patterns and at one time were covers with gold and jewels.



There is no access to Machu Picchu at this time, it will have to wait for another trip. The drive out of Cusco takes us past villages


and locals having more foam fun

car washes

pretty countryside as we head to Puno and Lake Titicaca.









Lake Titicaca

We find a small hotel with parking and arrange a tour the Islas Flotantes (floating islands) and Isla Traquile the next day. The tour starts with a visit of Islas Flotantes.








Then its off to Isla Traquile





All items on Isla Traquile are carried into town like this

And again, kids having fun with foam


After watching more local foaming in the street over dinner, we buy some spray foam and join in the Carnival revelry enjoyed by all ages. I forgot my camera, but Wendy was vicious when it can to foaming! The locals retaliated, and at one point she looked something like this.

We debate going through Boliva, but since Wendy’s time is limited, we opt to make good time through Chile, allowing more time in the wine region of Mendoza and Patagonia.
That was our Peruvian portion of the trip. Weather changed our plans and we missed seeing some of the areas we had wanted to visit. That will leave something to look forward to when we return.